Yo

The other day I checked in with a fellow freelancer na minsan naging mentee ko din. 

When I asked her the usual "Uy musta? Saw your post sa FB. Hehe How're things going with you?" she said, "Okay lang." 

But as her friend, I wanted to know how she was really doing - not just the quick socially acceptable answer. 

Marami kasing levels yung “I’m fine.” or “Okay lang.” Am I right? Seldom na fine lang talaga and wala nang ibang kasama underneath. 

I guess I’ve been reading too many psychology books hehe.

So I asked again, genuinely wanting to understand her experience. Don’t get me wrong guys ha, hindi naman sa malungkot sya or anything. 

Life isn’t black and white naman talaga where you’re either happy or sad. We have bright moments mixed all throughout the bleak, grey, and dull parts din. 

She opened up about the challenges of inconsistent clients, yung hassle sa schedule, having this feeling na “icky” from doing outreach, burnout from long hours when she did have projects, and the stress of providing for her family as a freelancer. 

Tapos later on, napadpad na ang convo sa lipat bahay to higher altitude para iwas baha. Hehe

It felt so much more than just "okay lang."

O diba. 

It reminded me of when I first started freelancing some years ago. 

I'd respond to friends saying I was fine, even when I was overwhelmed and struggling. Our Pinoy culture conditions us to keep things light. Lalo pa if guy ka, may expectation na you should be doing swabe or okay lagi. 

Or bawal magpakita ng weakness, vulnerability, or bawal umiyak. 

Ewan ko ba why this is simply the norm, and tanggap ng marami na we should just suffer in silence. Tiis pogi ba.

Conversely, this means that many of us never get to examine our inner feelings and experiences tuloy. We don’t get the chance to FULLY FEEL.

Why is this important? Kasi our inner experiences impact our outer results much more than we realize. 

I learned this from this old book "Feeling Is The Secret" by Neville Goddard, which says that when we change our inner world, we change our circumstances. 

It’s vaguely related to what I wrote the other day about being positively buoyed by our mindset, despite literal external storms in our life.

Just sharing the book guys ha, not an affiliate link hehe. 

I don’t know about you, but I see this in my freelancing business and life all the time. 

When I feel doubtful or defeated, projects slow down. Life also becomes somewhat heavier. I feel na parang I’m in a funk. 

But when I feel confident and grateful, opportunities and wins flow in quickly. Life also seems to have a rosier tinge to it. 

Ikaw din ba, ? 

As freelancers, we have to be even more mindful of our inner states. Lalo na that we don’t have a boss or schedule to be structured on. 

We work at home (or anywhere really), away from the social setting ng office after all. Things can make us feel isolated really quickly. 

I hope na through my emails, makatulong kahit papano sa natural desire natin as people to be social, and to think of me as a ‘digital’ shoulder to lean on. 

Because at the end of the day, ito talaga yung fact. Our thoughts and feelings drive our reality.

And the faster we reclaim our power and get back to feeling good, the quicker we attract more abundance.

I'm sharing this reminder because continuous growth and fulfillment is so crucial for us as my ka- Work Fun Homies. (di ko pa din alam if this nickname will stick. hehe) 

Teka lang bakit naging TedTalk na naman yung email mo today CoaSH?

Wala maulan kasi samin for the past few days, was also feeling a bit down and I decided to write something that might be useful. 

If you’ve been on this list long enough to read the email I had about bagyo, it’s a continuation of that. 

Osha, yun lang naman. Hehe

I encourage you to check in with yourself beyond the surface from time to time.

How are you really really doing in your freelancing journey, ? 

If you found this helpful, I'd love for you to forward this email to any of your fellow freelancer friends na nalolongkot at wala ding maka-osap. 

Happy Wednesday. ^_^

Sincerely,

Shoden “Musta na” San

Chill na chill sa floodwaters lol

PS1. If you found this a good read, and you have friends who are interested in reading email rants like these please forward this to them and let them sign up sa ating munting list.

PS2. eto din yan, but mas swabe. Share mo sa wall mo, I need subs parang awa mo na. ^_^ https://sendfox.com/WorkFunHomePinoy

PS3. EUI Lite is coming out tonight. La lang. hehe